Various liquids, such as culture media, buffers, reagents, bodily fluids, and other biological materials are used extensively in research and development. Often, the liquids include precise compositions with components which begin to degrade after collection or preparation. Due to the degradation of the components, many liquids have finite shelf-lives that limit availability and long-term storage. Additionally, relatively shorter shelf-lives may result in increased costs from increased production and shipping.
To increase shelf-life, the liquids may be frozen after collection or preparation. Typically, the liquids are collected, prepared, and/or frozen in pliable containers, such as bags. However, due to expansion and uneven freezing, a projection frequently forms on the frozen liquid. The projection creates difficulty in storing multiple containers, and may damage the bags, resulting in contamination, leakage, and/or loss of the liquids.
One method of reducing damage to the bags includes decreasing the volume of liquid within the bag prior to freezing. However, the decreased volume of liquid still includes an uneven distribution of liquid expansion during freezing, which may damage the bag and create difficulty in storing multiple containers. Furthermore, the decreased volume of liquid increases unused space within the container, which increases shipping cost.
A freezer bag, storage system, and method of freezing that show one or more improvements in comparison to the prior art would be desirable in the art.